Process for the surface finishing of lumber and shingles



g 3, 1933- H. v. WHITTALL 1,335

PROCESS FOR THE SURFACE FINISHING OF LUMBER AND SHINGLES Filed 001;. 27, 195I O m [l I J 1 6 Inven'for HuZerZ L Whi/iiqill 3 WW Patented Aug. 8, 1933 PROCESS {OR THE SURFACE FINISHING OF UMBER AND SHINGLES Hubert V. Whittall, Vancouver, British Columbia,

Canada, assignor to Co. Ltd., Vancouver,

Application October 2'1,

2 Claims.

This invention relates to a lumber finishing process developed in conjunction with the shingle industry for giving lumber an original surface finish not found in the 5 industry of today.

My process is not only designed to give decorative effect but the product of my process is designed to fill strictly utilitarian needs of various industries of the present day.

My'process is both an economical and commercial one and designed for every day use in industry.

My invention relates to a manufacturing process for the compression surfacing of lumber and shingles, and an object of the' invention is to alter and change the surface texture and appearance of finished lumber and shingles without performing any cutting operations thereon.

My invention particularly relates to the manufacture of shingles, and, battery separators and form lumber used in concrete work where it is desired to give to the finished concrete a ribbed finish as against the ordinary fiat finish coat so usually found, and upon which it is difficult to perform other finishing operations without first roughing up the fiat, smooth surface; whereas by the use of lumber finished according to my invention, concrete may be left in an ideal condition for floating on other finished coats or be left as finished with a distinguished character of its own.

Myinvention consists of indenting and impressing upon the surface of finished lumber and shingles a series of finely spaced corrugations longitudinally formed with the grain of the wood, by which the smooth surface texture of the wood is destroyed and replaced by a finely corrugated surface. r

I perform my invention of corrugating the surface of lumber and shingles, either dry or green, by passing the same between a pair of pressure rolls, one or both of the rolls being of the character of knurls or dies having their surfaces hardened and corrugated by which the surface of lumber or shingles exposed to the knurls or dies is indented and impressed with its corrugations or markings.

This operation, besides changing the appearance of finished lumber, also changes in a degree some of brash and brittleness so often inherent in some classes of lumber is greatly modified by reason of the longitudinally formed ribs,- which ribs are 5 formed solely by moulding and displacing the to the surface of shingles and its other qualities in that the usual.

Huntting-Merritt Lumber British Columbia, Canada 1931. Serial No. 571,452

surface fibres and. grain of the wood, and not by cutting or removing any of the lumber.

This surface compression of the grain of the lumber breaks down the air cells therein and extends throughout the thickness of ordinary boards and has its analogy in the stamping of the end of a log with a steel die that is struck a heavy blow with a hammer as such brand or marking can be read in the grain of the log when out off eight or ten feet from the end so stamped through the compression of the end fibres of the wood.-

My invention and process are particularly applicable to the shingle industry for giving to shingles a decorative and ribbed finish on the exposed surface thereof that adds immeasurably to their appearance. Furthermore, I have found that I can give shingles a deeper stain penetration with my process than with the usual twocoat dipping process.

In treating shingles I hand dip them one coat and. rack them in the usual manner for draining, after which I pass them through my compression finishing machine and immediately afterwards through a stain applying and brushing machine to receive a second coat of stain.

. The shingles, after being passed through the compression machine, take on a surface finish after the manner illustrated in Figure 1 of the drawing, accompanying and forming part of this application, in which Figure 2 is a side elevation of machine used in carrying out my process, and Figure 3 is an end elevation.

The moulding of the ribs upon the shingle surface by compression of the fibres and grain of the wood through pressure forces the stain previously applied through hand-dipping deeply into the pores of the wood and gives a deper stain penetration than is possible by other methods.

When applying my process to the surface fin ishing of lumber I may use one or two impression rolls or dies according to whether the lumber is required for single or double exposure, but, of course, in making form lumber for concrete work I use only a single impression roll for the working surface of the lumber, although the lower roll may have a branding die worked upon its surface for the identifying of the lumber with the maker's mark or name.

I do not confine my invention to the mere moulding of longitudinal ribs upon the surface of lumber except as applied to shingles, battery separators and some styles of form lumber, as my impression rolls or dies being of the nature of enlarged knurls as used in the mechanical arts are subject to endless variety of design, and for some classes of work may be made highly decorative without departing from the spirit and principle of my invention that of surface marking and finishing lumber by knurling or milling under pressure, whereby the ordinary smooth surface of the lumber is caused to take on a distinctive marking.

In a plying my invention I use a machine somewhat of the character illustrated in Figures 2 and 3, which are a preferred form for performing my process, although I am aware that other types of machines could probably be evolved for carrying out my invention successfully, but as the machine is only incidental to the carrying out of my process, I make no claim to the machine being part of my invention.

The machine as shown in the drawing consists merely of two power driven mandrels 4 on which is mounted the revolving dies or knurls 5, one or both oi which may have theirsurfaces cut to comprise a patter The top mandrel 4 is mounted in adjustable bearings 6 which may be spring-loaded through the action of the. springs 7 and lever 8 and the springs tensioned by the hand lever or screws 9.

Adjusting stops are provided at 10 for the purpose of adjusting the top mandrel and die to accommodate it to the thickness of the lumber being worked upon. The outer circumference of the lower roll or die is arranged to come nearly flush with the surface of the table 11 and the upper mandrel adjusted until the knurl or die 5 is in spaced relation to cause it to act upon the lumber being fed into the machine. A motor is indicated at 12 for driving the machine.

With this arrangement of parts the machine may be adjusted to work upon shingles or lumber of ordinary finished thickness and the operation merely consists of feeding and passing through the machine shingles or lumber it is desired to surface process.

Having now fully described my invention and the manner of applying same, what I claim and desire to be protected in by Letters Patent, is:

1. A new process for the surface finishing of lumber and shingles which consists of coating the surface grain of the wood and moulding the longitudinal fibres of the wood into a series of spaced apart longitudinal corrugations.

2. A new process for the surface finishing of lumber and shingles that consists in first dipping the wood into a suitable'stain, draining the surplus stain from the wood, and then subjecting the wood to a moulding pressure to mould the longitudinal fibres of the wood into a series of spaced apart longitudinal corrugations, and then subjecting the wood to a second staining operation substantially as specified.

HUBERT V. WHI'I'I'ALL. 

